Seven Years Coming
by aliceforgryffindor
Summary: When Lily Evans enters her Seventh Year, she doesn't expect that being Head Girl would come with added perks in the form of James Potter. At first she finds him arrogant, self-obsessed and really, really annoying, but love waits. J/L, rated T for safety. ALL OWNED BY JK OF COURSE
1. Prologue

Prologue

Lily Evans sat at the foot of her bed, staring down at the parchment in her right hand. In her left she was tightly clutching a sharp, shiny badge. Emblazoned on the front, in large, capital letters, was 'HEAD GIRL'. Lily sighed, and reread the letter. It was no surprise, of course. Her friends had been telling her for years the she was going to get Head Girl. Not that she wanted it. Contrary to popular opinion, Lily didn't actually want to be seen as a goody-goody know-it-all who lived for nothing more than to dock points of every student who disobeyed the rules. Lily wasn't _averse _to rule-breaking, but for some reason everyone assumed that she was. It was probably something to do with becoming a Prefect in fifth year.

_Thanks, Dumbledore, _she thought as she tucked to badge into the pocket of her jeans. _I just love responsibility._

Lily looked around her room. Unlike most girls her age in the neighbourhood, Lily hadn't decorated her room at all. There wasn't much point really, considering that she was only there for a few months every year. She saved her decorating for Hogwarts.

_Hogwarts._ Lily hugged herself around the middle, excited to be going back. She missed her dorm-mates, Alice, Emmaline and Mary. She missed using magic. She missed the food. Merlin, the food especially. Nothing could wake her up better in the morning than lovely, warm, steaming elf-cooked food. Lily tended to try to ignore the fact that it was essentially cooked by slaves. Instead she focused on the positives: it was delicious.

_I even miss the guys_, she sighed. _The Marauders. What a ridiculous name. Who named themselves anyway? What a douchey thing to do. Probably James' idea. Idiot._

She briefly wondered who had got the position of Head Boy. Remus probably.

'LILY! MOVE IT, OR YOU'RE GOING TO MISS THE TRAIN!' Lily's mum screeched from downstairs.

Snapped out of her reverie, Lily locked the large trunked at the foot of her bed, and began to lug it out the door. At the threshold she paused, and surveyed the room that had been hers for the summer. Lily smiled slightly, and realised she wouldn't miss it.

_Whatever will come, will come,_ she thought comfortably, and headed downstairs.


	2. Back to Hogwarts

_**I just wanted to thank jubi95, and Konohashinobi07 for favouriting and following, and Grace210 for following this story, even in it's infancy. Thanks so much!**_

_**Of course, all HP is owned by the wonderful JK Rowling, as much as I wish I owned it myself.**_

_**Happy reading! xo**_

1

Lily opened her eyes. No matter how many times she ran through that blasted barrier, she _still_ expected to smash right into it.

_Surely_, she thought_, they could have thought of another, less scary way of getting onto the platform_.

Lily scanned the platform, as the Hogwarts Express hooted. The scene was chaos, mother's frantically chasing after young children, annoying girls who were hugging and screaming at their friends even though they had probably seen them the day before, boys who were attempting to seem cool by wearing their hair all scruffy like James Potter. The boy in question turned around.

_Oh, _Lily thought, _it was Potter. No, don't come over. No. Nononononono. Dammit. _

'Potter,' she said by way of greeting, in the most annoyed voice she could manage, hoping he would get the message. He did, but of course it just made him smile wider.

'Evans,' he said. 'You're looking as radiant as a flower in May.'

Lily glared at him, exasperated. James had been complimenting her, and asking her out on dates since first year, and she was _really_ sick of it.

'Are you really still doing that? Hasn't it got even a _little_ bit old by now?'

'My love for you will never get old,' he said solemnly, the slight crinkling in his eyes ruining the effect.

'Are you serious!' she cried, exasperated. Suddenly she was hugged tight from behind, and a voice growled in her ear.

'No, that would be me.'

Lily tried to squirm out of the tight grip, but succeeding only in turning around to face her assailant, and being pressed more tightly to his chest.

'Sirius, will you ever _not _use that joke?' she said, her voice muffled in his shirt. _Godric_, Lily thought, _I never realised Sirius was this muscly_.

'Lilykins, you know that that joke is too good to pass up,' he grinned at her, and then released her from the hug.

Lily pretended to gasp for breath, and said, 'I think you just collapsed my lung.'

Sirius grinned at her, and then turned to James, who had been standing awkwardly off to the side, watching Sirius hug Lily with a frown on his face.

'PRONGS!' Sirius yelled at him, despite the fact that James was standing two feet away, and they had come to the train station together.

'Padfoot?' James asked, raising an eyebrow, and sighed as Sirius launched himself at him, and pulled him into a bear hug. James winked at Lily over Sirius' shoulder, and she felt herself go red.

_I'm blushing! Oh no, why am I blushing? _Lily thought, fighting a losing battle to stop her face from camouflaging into her hair.

'I have not seen you in far, far too long!' Sirius declared.

'It's been less than a minute, mate,' James replied.

'And that was one minute too many!' Sirius said dramatically, before spotting Severus Snape come through the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾.

'Ah Snivellus,' Sirius said, looking at Snape, 'How I've missed tormenting you.'

Lily frowned and poked him in the arm, 'Can't you just leave him alone this year?'

'But Lily,' replied Sirius, looking every inch the outraged male, 'tormenting Snape is what I live for!'

Lily sighed, and shook her head, knowing the situation was hopeless.

'Well, I'm going to get onto the train. Hopefully, I won't see you later.'

'I'll come with you,' James said immediately. Lily frowned at him.

'I have to go to the Head's compartment,' she pointed out.

'I know,' James grinned, 'That's where I'm headed too.'

'But you're not allowed in there!'

'I think you'll find that the Head Boy and Girl are allowed in there.'

'Exactly! And you're not… No. Oh no. _Really_?'

James grinned at her, and pulled a badge out of his jeans pocket.

'You are looking at Hogwarts Head Boy, Class of 1978.'

Lily groaned. She had actually started to look forward to being Head Girl. It had its perks – a Head's dormitory, no curfew, a close relationship with Albus Dumbledore, whom she idolised. She had been hoping that Remus would have been chosen as Head Boy – he had been a Prefect, after all. Failing that, she would have even gone for Amos Diggory. But Potter?

'Why on earth would Dumbledore have picked _you?_' Lily gasped.

'Well, _excuse _me,' said James, pretending to be hurt. 'I'm sure it wasn't _only _for my good looks and charm.'

Lily sighed under her breath, and then jumped as the train hooted again.

'We have to get onto the train!'

**oOo**

The train was nearing the end of the journey as Lily sat in her compartment with her three best friends, Emmaline Vance, Alice Prewett and Mary MacDonald. Lily had already put up with Potter for the first two hours of the train-ride, in the Head's compartment, and when they talked to the Prefects about the coming year. He had managed to 'accidently' trip in her arms twice, and had proposed once. It was nice to spend some time with her friends after all of that.

'Oh Lily, I forgot!' said Emmaline, turning to her. 'Who's Head Boy?'

Lily groaned.

'You wouldn't believe it,' she told them. 'It's Potter.'

'What?!' said the other three girls at once. Mary's jaw had dropped open.

'How on earth did he get that?' Alice asked, astounded.

'I know!' agreed Lily. 'It's ridiculous, isn't it!'

Just then the compartment door slid open.

'Talking about me?' James smirked, the rest of the Marauders assorted around him. Lily jumped up, pushed past him with a glare, and pulled Remus into a hug.

'Remus! I missed you!' she said into his jumper. He looked tired, the bags under his eyes more pronounced than they had been when he'd left Hogwarts for the holidays the previous year. He felt thinner too.

'Hey Lily,' Remus smiled down at her. Lily and Remus had become close in fifth year, when they had been Prefects together. Out of all the Marauders, Lily found Remus the easiest to deal with. He was bookish like herself, and wasn't quite as ridiculous as James and Sirius. Lily frowned. She was still on the fence about Peter; they didn't talk much.

'Why didn't I get a hug in greeting?' James asked, looking hurt.

'Because you're annoying, and because you proposed to me an hour ago.'

James paused. 'Seems fair enough.'

Sirius looked smug, '_I _got a hug.'

'Only 'cause you stole it,' Lily pointed out, and Sirius shrugged.

Behind her, Peter and Remus were saying hello to Emmaline, Mary and Alice.

'So,' said Peter. 'What did you girls get up to?'

'Oh,' replied Mary. 'Not much, really. It was actually a really boring holiday. I couldn't wait for Hogwarts to start.'

Emmaline nodded in agreement, then looked at her watch.

'Merlin!' she cried, jumping to her feet. 'We have to get changed into our robes!'

'We'll just leave,' Remus said quickly, and backed quickly out of the compartment, followed by Peter. James looked wistfully at Lily, who caught the look and went red. Sirius, however, sat down opposite Mary and made himself comfortable.

'I'm fine just here,' he said, and raised an eyebrow at Emmaline, who blushed furiously.

'Get out, Black,' Lily said firmly. Sirius gave her a pleading look, but got up all the same. As he left the compartment, Lily heard him say to James, 'You know, one day you're going to see Lily naked. Won't that be nice.'

'OI!' yelled Lily, sticking her head out the door. 'I heard that!'

'That's a shame,' he smirked. 'I was trying really hard to be quiet.'

Lily gave a growl of frustration and slammed the door shut.

**oOo**

'Manuel, Jack.'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

'Neill, Emily.'

'RAVENCLAW!'

Lily watched as the line of first years slowly dwindled. They were getting decidedly smaller each year, she decided. Her stomach growled, and Lily sighed, hoping the Sorting would be finished soon. She was sitting between Alice and Emmaline, facing Mary who was across the table. Unfortunately, the Marauders had decided to sit on either side of her, and Sirius _would _keep shooting her looks.

'What?!' she said, exasperated. 'Why do you keep on looking at me like that?'

'Because,' Sirius said, leaning forward on his elbows, 'you're going to be living with Prongs!'

Lily paled.

'I forgot about that! Ew. I have to live with a boy,' she said, clapping along with the rest of the house as 'Tonks, Nymphadora' was Sorted in Gryffindor, but inwardly sighing.

'Hey!' said James. 'I'm actually really neat!'

Remus, overhearing, raised an eyebrow at him, and then shook his head at Lily.

'He's not.'

'Oi.'

'Thank Merlin we finally got rid of you,' said Peter, earning a punch in the shoulder from James. 'Ow.'

'Living with me was an absolute pleasure,' James said firmly.

'Next you'll be saying that you didn't spend the last six years whining about Lily,' Sirius said, and Lily rolled her eyes.

'I'm seem to recall that you spent most of you're time pranking the Slytherins.'

'Ah yes,' Sirius sighed, 'those were the good times.'

'So you won't be doing anymore pranking?' asked Mary, disbelieving.

'Well,' Sirius said sadly, 'I don't expect we'll stop _completely, _but now Prongs is Head Boy, so we might have to cut back.'

Remus grinned, looking pleased that he wouldn't have to participate in too many pranks that year.

Up behind the lectern, McGonagall cleared her throat as the last first year, 'Zephyr, Maximus' was sorted into Slytherin.

'Now,' McGonagall said, staring beadily into the crowd of students, 'the Headmaster will address you.'

'Thankyou, Minerva,' Dumbledore said, getting up from his seat behind the table. 'Welcome to Hogwarts first years! And welcome back to the old. I know you must all be hungry, so I won't keep you waiting. Tuck in!'

The students cheered as food appeared on the golden plates adorning each table. Lily helped herself to pork chops and mashed potato, as Nearly-Headless Nick glided into the Great Hall. He settled between Lily and Alice, whose arms had the unpleasant sensation of being dipped into a bucket of ice.

'Hi, Nicholas,' said Lily politely, as she filled her goblet with pumpkin juice.

'Lily, my girl!' cried Nick, beaming at her in delight. 'How I've missed you!'

'Nick!' said Sirius, his mouth full of potato. Nick looked at him in delicate distaste, and turned away from him to face Lily.

'I always knew you would be Head Girl!'

'Did you always know I would be Head Boy?' asked James, leaning forward with a grin on his face.

Nearly-Headless Nick looked uncomfortable, 'That was a… shock, I must admit.'

James looked hurt, 'You never believed in me, did you!'

'Not as such.'

Remus, hearing the conversation, had to agree with Nick. It _had _been a shock when he go the letter from James saying that James had been chosen to be Head Boy. Considering James' track record with the school, it was surprising that he hadn't got a letter saying he was expelled. _Still_, Remus thought, _he does somehow manage to charm into everyone's good graces. And people listen to him. _He appraised James with an interested look, deciding that perhaps James wouldn't be a total screw-up.

**oOo**

Across the Great Hall, Severus watched as Lily laughed at something James had said. He felt infinitely sad; he had lost his best friend in one hate-filled moment. 'Mudblood'. How Severus wished that that word had never been invented. He had just been so _ashamed_. Ashamed that he would never do well in his exams, ashamed that he had been unable to defend himself for the third time that day, and ashamed that he had to rely on a girl to help him. He had waited outside the Gryffindor common room for three hours afterwards before Mary had told Lily that he was there. Lily had refused to even look at him. Severus had lost his friend in one word.

Lily felt someone looking at her, and turned around to catch Severus look back at his plate. Lily glared at the back of his greasy head. She had kept words between them to the bare minimum ever since that day on the lawn. Lily was still angry about that day in fifth year. She had _trusted _Severus. He had broken that trust. After two years, she still wasn't ready to forgive him.

James was startled as he saw an angry look ripple across Lily's smooth features. He looked in the direction of her gaze, and narrowed his eyes as he realised that it was Snape she was looking at. _Snivellus_, James thought, _Bloody wanker. _James had disliked Snape when he first saw him on the train in first year. Firstly, he wanted to be a Slytherin. Secondly, he was talking to Lily, and a witch of Lily's calibre and beauty shouldn't be talking to a _Slytherin_. After that stunt on the lawn, James _hated _Snape for causing Lily that much pain. He conveniently forgot that it was he and Sirius who had started the altercation. It was best just to blame Snape.


	3. Moving In

_**Thanks to .16 for following, and husker51 for favouriting. It really means a lot you guys, so thanks very much! Also thanks for the review :D**_

_**I'm not richer than the Queen, so I can't own any of this. Thanks JK for the material!**_

_**Happy reading! xo**_

2

Lily gazed around her new common room, flabbergasted by the luxury of it. A large marble-lined fireplace, flaming merrily, took up one wall. Around it were assorted red and gold settees, couches and armchairs, as well as a low coffee table with a game of wizard's chess already set up upon it. From the threshold Lily could see a pair of double-doors opening into a large study area, wall to wall with books, with two desks and another comfortable armchair for reading. To the left of the double doors was a large sweeping staircase, splitting into two to reach the two bedrooms, which, Lily realised, each had its own wing and ensuite.

'Wow,' Lily breathed, taking it all in.

James, from behind her, took a look and snorted, unimpressed, 'It's alright, I guess.'

'Well excuse me if I didn't grow up in the lap of luxury!' Lily said, indignant.

'You're excused,' James smirked.

Lily just glared at him. Why did he get on her nerves so much? She found every little thing he did irritating. The way he ruffled his hair, the way his glasses sat slightly slanted on his nose, the way his grin was crooked. He was just _annoying_.

James elbowed past Lily and jogged the steps up to his room. Lily took her time; trailing her fingers up the curving bannister, and stopping to admire the engraved name-plate on her door before turning the handle. The room inside was spacious, the mahogany floor scattered with Persian rugs and low cushioned stools. On the far wall was a king-sized bed with red velvet curtains, the quilt a deep maroon with gold stitching. Lily briefly noticed her trunk sitting at the foot, before sinking into the soft pillows of the bed. She could get used to this.

James poked his head around the door.

'Yours is the same as mine,' he said, disappointed, before stepping into the room. Lily was too comfortable to be irritated that James was in her room without permission. James sat down on her trunk and idly pulled on a tassel hanging from the curtain. Lily watched him fiddle with it for a few moments before tossing her hair over her shoulder and saying, 'What do you want, James.'

'You,' James winked at her, and Lily rolled her eyes.

'Well, actually, I did want to talk to you about that,' he continued awkwardly.

'About what?'

'I know I'm actually a really annoying person to be around. Well, to you, at least.'

Lily raised her eyebrows. Where was this going?

'And I just want you to know that I'll be cutting back on all of that.'

'All of what?'

'You know,' he said uncomfortably, 'asking you out and stuff. It's our last year at Hogwarts, and I don't want to ruin it for you.'

James didn't look at her as he finished. Lily could see the top of his head turning a pale pink, and wondered when he had last admitted to being in the wrong. She was shocked that he actually considered her feelings. And she _definitely _wouldn't miss James flirting with her. To be fair though, it _was _nice that she was the only girl that he flirted with consistently, and it wasn't _terrible _when he complimented her all of the time. But still, it did get tiring thinking of witty retorts.

Lily patted James on the head.

'Thanks.'

'Thanks?' James said, outraged, 'That's all I get?'

'You would have gotten more if you hadn't spent the last six years being a prat.'

'But I just apologised!'

'Technically, you didn't.'

James looked at her, and conceded defeat.

'You're no fun,' he mumbled.

'Insults are a great way to earn forgiveness,' said Lily drily.

James sighed, and stretched. As he did so Lily could see a small line of skin between his belt and the hem of his shirt as it rode up. She found herself surprisingly interested in what it would feel like to, say, poke said skin. Lily flushed, embarrassed by this train of thought. _Since when do I care what's under Potter's shirt, _she asked herself furiously. James caught her look and winked at her. _Crap_.

'See you 'round, Evans,' he smirked.

Lily just glared until he left the room.

_Why does he get to me so much? _Lily asked herself, running her fingers through her auburn hair – something she always did when she was stressed or nervous. Her fingers caught a knot, and Lily found herself getting more and more frustrated. Eventually she gave in, and went to get a brush.

**oOo**

James sat on his bed, ruffling his hair, and pushing back his glasses to the bridge of his nose. They never seemed to sit straight, much like his hair never sat straight. James didn't mind though; girls seemed to like the edgy, devil-may-care look he had about him. _Even_, he mused, _Lily Evans._ James had caught her looking at his midsection. Just as he always caught her eyeing him in a reflection, or out of the corner of her eye. As soon as she would realise that he had caught her, she would flush so adorably. When they were younger, James used to love it when she blushed. He would tease her mercilessly about being a carrot. Not very original, he supposed, but in first year he had been somewhat lacking in intelligence and basic social graces. But she was just so _cute _when she was angry. Her nose would go all pink, and she would sometimes even accidently snap an errant quill that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. James remembered the countless times she would have to go trudging over to one of her friends to borrow a quill after James had compared her to a pumpkin, or proposed, or even commented that her handwriting didn't seem to be _quite _as neat as it had been before. The funny thing was, all of those times that James had told Lily that she was the only one for him he hadn't been lying. At first it had just been amusing to annoy Lily, but by the end of third year he realised that by teasing her he was just trying to hide his feelings for her from himself, which, as one can imagine, is not something that he was successful in doing.

_You can't run from your feelings_, James thought tapping his wand against his thigh. When James had accepted that – around the middle of fourth year – he had decided to do the exact opposite; he decided to run straight into them.

**oOo**

Lily was revelling in the comfort of her new bed, when she heard voices downstairs. She quickly tiptoed out the door, and peeked over the bannister. Emmaline, Alice and Mary had somehow found a way in, and were standing in the middle of the common room, staring about them in wonder. Lily couldn't blame them; although the Gryffindor tower had comfort on its side, nothing could beat the sheer _decadence _of the Head's common room. Mary sunk into one of the armchairs, swinging her feet over the side. Emmaline admired the marble of the fireplace, careful not to scorch her eyebrows, and Alice simply sat down on the carpet for an unobstructed view of the room.

'How did you guys get in?' asked Lily, hopping down the stairs.

'Oh the portrait let us in, you didn't make a password,' replied Emmaline, before raising an eyebrow. 'How's married life with Potter?'

Lily flushed – _Blushing again?! _she thought furiously – but before she could reply, the portrait banged open, and the Marauder's entered the room.

'Hi guys,' Lily sighed, rolling her eyes at Alice, who didn't notice. She was too busy straightening her hair. Lily turned to Emmaline and Mary, who were opening the top button of their shirts.

_Am I the only one who's immune to the effects of these guys? Honestly, they aren't gods._

James came bounding down the stairs, and Lily's hands immediately went to her hair, fixing the few stray hairs that dared to wander outside of her ponytail. James walked straight past her, rounding on the boys, and gesturing around the room.

'How do you like the new digs?'

'It's so nice!' said Peter, eyes wide.

Remus had his hands in his pockets as he surveyed the room, his eyes interested behind his glasses.

'It's neater than I expected,' he mused. 'I thought it would be a pigsty by now.'

James frowned at him.

'It's pretty good,' said Sirius, pushing Mary off the armchair, and settling down himself.

'Oi!' said Mary, blowing her hair out of her eyes, 'There are more chairs, you know!'

'But I like this one.'

'They're all the same!'

'Nah, you kept this one warm.'

'Ew.'

Lily sat down herself, and to her intense embarrassment, James sat down next to her, their legs close enough to touch.

'There are more chairs, you know,' she said to him, echoing Mary.

'But I like this one,' he replied innocently, smirking as his hand brushed her thigh. Emmaline caught the movement, and raised her eyebrows at Lily, who gave a non-committal shrug.

'Now that we're all here, let's do something,' said Sirius, shaking his black hair out of his face.

'Like what?' asked Mary eagerly, leaning forward to 'accidently' show him her cleavage.

_She is so obvious, _Lily thought, watching.

Sirius looked at Mary shrewdly, and slowly a grin spread across his face.

'Let's play truth or dare!'

'Ugh,' said Lily, 'That is such an obvious thing to do.'

'It's a classic!' cried Sirius, outraged. 'You can't beat the classics!'

'Tell that to Puddlemere United,' muttered James under his breath.

'It'll be fun!' said Mary, eyeing Sirius, who winked.

Emmaline nodded.

'Fine!' said Lily, throwing up her hands. 'If you want to be cliché, then be cliché!'

'My pleasure,' replied Sirius. 'Who'll go first?'

'Oh, me!' said Peter, throwing up his hand like he was in a class. Lily wasn't sure why Peter was friends with James, Sirius and Remus. He wasn't good-looking, he wasn't particularly smart, and he appeared to never have an original thought. Lily supposed that they kept him around simply because it was easier than ignoring him, considering they all lived together in the same dormitory.

'Alright then Peter, truth or dare?' asked Sirius, eyes twinkling in a way that made Lily think that whichever Peter chose, it wasn't going to be good. Peter saw it too, and answered nervously, 'Uh, truth.'

'Pfft,' James said, shaking his head, 'you're boring.'

'It was probably a good move actually,' commented Remus, who had obviously also seen the look in Sirius' eye.

'Alright Peter, which one would you snog?'

'I'm sorry?'

'Which one would you snog?' Sirius persisted.

Peter blanched, and looked around at the girl's in the room. Emmaline wore an expression of faint distaste, while Alice awkwardly looked around the room, trying not to catch his eye. Mary, of course, was completely oblivious – she was too busy popping her second button. Lily just raised her eyebrows. Peter obviously realised that there was no safe way to answer the question, and gave a shrug.

'No-one,' he said, but Sirius shook his head.

'No you have to choose one!'

'Fine. I choose Padfoot.'

'You what?' said Sirius, leaning as far back from Peter as he could.

'Well you didn't say I had to choose a girl,' said Peter, looking pleased at how well he had managed to deflect the question.

'But,' spluttered Sirius, 'You're not bent!'

'How do you know?'

Sirius just gaped.

'Sirius,' Remus cut in smoothly, as James shook with silent laughter, 'Peter's just being a prat. He's not gay.'

'He's not?'

'No, now go snog Mary. That's the only reason you wanted to play, right Sirius?'

'You see right through me, Moony,' Sirius grinned, recovering, and then winked at Mary, who didn't seem at all insulted by the fact he was treating her like a sure thing.

'Snog her if you must,' sighed James, 'but not in here please.'

Sirius leapt to his feet, pulling Mary up after him.

'Milady,' he said, bowing her out the door. She giggled, and Sirius saluted as the portrait closed.

'He,' Lily said, 'is disgusting.'

'And I have to live with him,' agreed Remus sadly. Peter didn't deign to contribute, instead continuing to look pleased that he had dodged Sirius' question. James turned to him, and said, 'You aren't gay, are you?'

It was obvious to Lily that James wasn't homophobic, but instead was remembering all of the times that Peter had seen him naked.

'Straight as a straight thing,' Peter replied.

'Ok,' said James, nodding his head and settling back down in the chair, 'that's good to know.'

'So what do we do now?' asked Alice, looking bored as she fiddled with the embroidery on a cushion. Remus yawned and stretched out on the floor. Lily couldn't help but notice how skinny he was. She remembered the date; it was full moon in a few days - no wonder he was tired. The boys didn't know that she knew about Remus, but it really hadn't been that hard to work it out. He had a day off school each month, and began looking tired around the same time. Lily didn't want to tell Remus that she knew until he was ready to tell her. Still, she felt bad for him. What a horrible childhood that must have been.

'I'm hungry,' Emmaline announced.

'Already?' Lily asked, eyebrow raised, 'you literally just ate a feast.'

'Well,' Emmaline said, 'I was going to diet this year, so I didn't eat much. But just now I've realised that I like food more than skinny.'

James laughed, 'I can get you food. Come on.'

**oOo**

Emmaline, Lily and Alice followed James down past the Hufflepuff common room. Lily found herself admiring James from behind, but immediately cut off that train of thought. _I'm being stupid_, she thought, annoyed, _he's infuriating. But he _is _fit._

James stopped beside a still life of a fruit-bowl. He reached up and tickled the pear, which giggled. It became a handle, and James swung the painting wide open.

'Welcome,' he said, with a twinkle in his eye, 'to the kitchens.'

Emmaline gave a sigh of relief and bounded in. Lily stepped though slowly, eye wide. She had never been to the kitchens, and it wasn't at all what she expected. The house elves seemed _happy._ It was nothing like the slave labour she had envisioned for years. James seemed to understand what she was thinking.

'Dumbledore offered to free them all,' he said as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, 'but most of them said no.'

Lily frowned, not quite believing that a creature would prefer not to be free, but looking around at the spacious kitchen with its many bustling house-elves, she couldn't help but believe that they were happy in their work. A crowd of seven had swarmed Emmaline, and she looked positively overwhelmed by the choice food arrayed before her. Alice was sitting on one of the long tables, looking lovingly at custard tart, attended by two house-elves wearing crisp, white tea towels embroidered with an 'H' in gold thread.

'It's quite something, huh,' said James, watching the scene.

'Yeah,' Lily turned to look at his profile, and seeing the way his glasses glinted in the light, 'it is.'


	4. Progress Report

**UPDATE:**

**I am so sorry everyone for the waiting. I realise I haven't uploaded in a while, but school is completely hectic and crazy and super stressful, and I just cant find time to write. I am half-way through the next chapter, and hopefully it will be up sometime next week.**

**Fingers crossed!**

**xo Alice**


	5. Pixies in the Pie

**I am so sorry this is so short, I've been writing this consistently, but I've only really had time for 5-10 min writing sessions, school is just that hectic. I realised it was going to take me a really long time to finish this chapter to the length I wanted, so I decided just to post what I have written.**

**It's the holidays in a week, so hopefully I'll get one or two longer chapters in then.**

**Thanks to everyone who has favourited and followed, and again, I'm sorry that is has taken so long for a really short chapter.**

**Happy reading!**

**xox Alice**

3

'I cannot believe you,' fumed Lily, watching the chaos in the Great Hall.

'Lily, I have no idea what you mean,' answered James from beside her, with a smirk on his face. Lily turned and punched him in the shoulder.

'Ow,' she said, rubbing her hand. James grinned, and flexed his bicep. Lily glared at the side of his head for a while, before realising that James was paying her no attention whatsoever. He was watching hysteria that surrounded them. Lily felt as if she was standing in a bubble of calm, outside of which anarchy reigned. She sighed. She had expected it really. It had been too much to hope that the Marauders would refrain from pranking. But the waiting had been excruciating. Lily knew that they were cutting back on pranks this year, due to James being Head Boy, but every morning she had tensed, waiting for everyone's soup to start levitating, or their pumpkin juice to be upended on her head, or Gryffindor streamers to fall from the ceiling (dousing everyone in a healthy red and gold Gryffindor tan). But it had been a whole _month_. Lily supposed this was a new tactic Remus had thought of. Lull everyone into a false sense of security, and _then_ conceal twenty Cornish pixies in every shepherd's pie. Lily glanced up briefly to see a shrieking Amos Diggory being lifted up past the floating candles and disappear into the clouds scattered across the enchanted ceiling. Suddenly, he dropped, screaming girlishly. Lily sighed, and lifted her wand.

'Arresto Momentum.'

The cushioning charm took affect, and a surprised Amos was rescued from death by Cornish pixie. Lily watched as a harassed McGonagall was trying to calm a first year whose pie was now inedible. Surely someone had tried to stop this madness?

Lily sighed and, raising her wand, murmured, '_Immobulus._'

She felt a great jerk around her navel, much like the pull of a portkey. She gave a shriek, and squeezed her eyes tight. When the feeling stopped, she tentatively opened her eyes, hoping she wouldn't find herself hanging upside down.

_Dammit_. She was hanging upside down, her face level with James'.

Ignoring the blood rushing to her head, she glared at James, who sank to the floor, completely silent with laughter.

'JAMES POTTER!' Lily shrieked, struggling to keep her robes from falling into her face.

'I'm sorry, Evans,' James choked out between gasps of mirth, 'but… your face! Priceless!' Unable to finish the rest of the sentence, he clutched his stomach and sank to the floor.

'Get,' Lily set through her teeth, 'me down. Right. Now.'

James, recognising her tone after years of her verbally abusing him, gathered himself. He murmured a counterspell, and Lily found herself floating slowly to the floor. Fighting the urge to punch Potter in the face, assumingly correctly that it would hurt her more than it would hurt him, Lily glared at him (which he pretended not to see), and then turned to the staff table. Professor Slughorn was struggling to lift his massive weight out of his chair to save a poor second year who was pinned to the ground by several pixies. The young astronomy professor, Professor Vector, was attempting to hit some away with a plate. Only Dumbledore seemed calm. He sat watching the scene with a slight smile on his regal visage. He turned to look at James, ignoring the blue creature that was pulling at his long, silvery beard. James grinned wickedly at Dumbledore, who gave him a small frown.

'You're going to get expelled,' said Lily confidently, turning to James.

'Who me?' he asked, glaring at her in mock indignation.

'Yes you! You think you're going to get away with this?'

'Evans, I have absolutely no idea what you are on about. I simply sat down at dinner tonight, and sliced myself some shepherd's pie. Imagine my consternation when I found it was completely inedible.'

'Inedible because of _you,_' Lily hissed, reaching into her bag and pulling out her potions text-book in time to batter away a wayward pixie.

'Evidence, Evans. You need evidence,' James grinned, and clapped a passing Sirius around the shoulders.

Lily was beginning to wonder when the mayhem would end, when Dumbledore got out of his seat, evidently under the impression that the prank had gone far enough. He always allowed the pranks the Marauders pulled to continue on for more than necessary, at least in Lily's opinion. She assumed it was because Dumbledore recognised the amount of work that had gone into making the prank possible. Lily wondered herself how they had managed to smuggle in several nests of Cornish pixies, and then bribe the house elves into concealing them within the pies. She decided that she would rather not know, and instead looked at Dumbledore. Lily hoped he realised that the freezing charm would not be beneficial – it would be a tad undignified for the Headmaster to hang upside down in front of his students. But perhaps she was underestimating his skill. Without appearing to form the words, or even raise his wand, Dumbledore cast a freezing charm that went into effect immediately, and then a cushioning charm for the students who fell from the ceiling as a result. Lily watched the perplexed pixies as they floated around the room, and sighed, _Will they never grow up?_

**oOo**

James grinned from ear to ear as he made his way to the Heads dormitory. As his last prank, he thought he had done pretty well. Of course, there was the slight drawback of Peter being hung by the collar in the entrance hall, and may have been slightly forgotten about. Just slightly. Peter had been all forgiveness, of course. He was always all forgiveness. James did like Peter though. James could talk to Remus, but he always tried to give advice, or make him feel bad. Sirius was a laugh, but you couldn't really hold a serious conversation with him. Peter though, Peter listened. _And that_, James thought, _is sometimes really hard to find. _


End file.
